U.S. should press Poroshenko to settle conflict in Donbass — envoy

April 23, 15:53UTC+3MOSCOWIn a comment on President Barack Obama’s statement on the situation in Donbass, the envoy said: "I cannot see how NATO could influence here"

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MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/. Settlement of the conflict in Ukraine’s east may be possible if the U.S. influences Ukraine’s President Pyotr Poroshenko, envoy of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) to the Minsk peace talks Denis Pushilin said on Saturday.

In a comment on President Barack Obama’s statement on the situation in Donbass, the envoy said: "I cannot see how NATO could influence here. Probably, it would be more correct if Obama sent his message regarding settlement of the conflict to Poroshenko."

"I am for possible variants of settling the conflict," the Donetsk News Agency quoted him. "The basic document, which regulates the settlement, is the so-called roadmap, which was supported not only by the Normandy Four but also by the UN Security Council - the Complex of Measures signed on February 12, 2015."

If the document is not observed, the situation in Donbass may worsen, he added.

On April 22, at a meeting with the UK Prime Minister David Cameron in London, Barack Obama discussed the situation in Ukraine’s east. The U.S. president said: "We have to resolve the conflict in the Ukraine." At the same time he said: "We have to continue to invest in NATO so that we can meet our overseas commitments."

A peace deal struck on February 12, 2015 in Minsk, Belarus, by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France envisaged a ceasefire between Ukrainian forces and people’s militias starting from February 15, followed by withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of military engagement and prisoner release.

At a meeting of the Contact Group on settlement of the situation in Ukraine’s south east, on January 13, the parties agreed yet another ceasefire would begin on January 14, however the militia and the military continue accusing each other of truce violations.